[TEASER] Reconnecting to the Land and to Place

Dec 23, 2025

The conversation delves into the challenges of living with long COVID and mold sensitivity, detailing the struggle of frequent relocations to avoid health hazards. The discussion highlights the tensions between profit-driven housing construction and tenant health. Gary Snyder's essay on bioregionalism is introduced, emphasizing the significance of 'place' and emotional connections to landscapes. Reflections on childhood, local vernacular, and the loss of natural spaces to urban development add depth to this poignant exploration of connection to the land.

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ANECDOTE

A Year Of Moving To Escape Mold

Robert R. Raymond describes moving about 15 times in a year while caring for a partner with severe mold-triggered long COVID symptoms.
He links repeated relocations to discovering hidden mold and the partner's debilitating inflammatory reactions that improved when away from moldy environments.

ANECDOTE

Hidden Mold In A Cabin Revealed

Raymond recounts finding hidden mold in a dark wood-paneled cabin and seeing symptom improvement after moving out during remediation.
He explains the difficulty of finding reliably safe rentals and relying on expensive, clean hotels as temporary refuges.

ADVICE

Choose Dry Climates Or Controlled Trailers

Consider living in dry climates (New Mexico, Arizona, parts of Colorado) or using a well-maintained trailer with dehumidifiers to control mold exposure.
Raymond suggests these options offer more control over air quality than unpredictable rentals.

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In this episode, part of our ongoing Patreon reading series, Robbie reads an essay titled "The Place, The Region, The Commons" by the poet, author, an environmental activist Gary Snyder. The episode begins with an update on Robbie's life—which goes into specifics about health issues involving long COVID, ME/CFS, CIRS, as well as housing, mold, and other issues that impact our health under capitalism.

He then begins reading "The Place, The Region, The Commons," interspersing the reading with many thoughts, reflections, and criticisms along the way. The essay argues for bioregionalism—the idea that we should center place in our how we organize society and understand ourselves. Through compelling prose and beautifully descriptive language, Gary Snyder lays out an argument for coming back to nature and the wild while taking many interesting side paths. What are the commons and what happened to them? How can industrial society reconnect to the land? How can we balance social needs with environmental needs? And what are the real boundaries we should be paying attention to? These are just some of the questions explored in this reading.

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Cover art: "something" by Robert Raymond (MS Paint)

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